The verb
of the first line is problematic for translators. The literal
sense seems to be something like: "gasping because the
dust of the land upon poor people's heads". The verb
can refer to lustgiving something like "lusting
for gain even though poor people's heads are in the dust of the
land". However this does not reflect the construction
in Hebrew. Proposals to read another verb are not convincing (despite the
practice of most translators). In view of these difficulties I
have chosen to follow the syntax and render "gasp" as
"laugh"
(though with no great confidence).

The phrase "father and son go
with the same servant-girl" is open to differing readings.
Does the word "na'arah" imply a servant in the household
(Mays 46),
or just a "girl" (Paul
n.392; Wolff
n.286; cf. Anderson
& Freedman 318-319 who seem unable to decide)? Few commentators
now continue to uphold the suggestion that she is a temple prostitute,
qodeshah, as "na'arah" never has this meaning in
the Bible.

Four reasons support the reading given
here, "servant-girl":

Ex 21:9, in the context of defending the rights of the girl sold, prohibits
such a crime by demanding that if the man give her to his son he must then
treat her as a daughter. This explains why this act is said to profane God's
"holy name" (language usually reserved for breaking a covenant or
oath in God's name) for it expressly disobeys the Covenant
Code.

This meaning is not uncommon for na'arah
in the Bible (e.g. Gen 24:61; Ex 2:5; 1 Sam 25:42;
Prov 9:3).

This act, father and son taking the
same girl as concubine, was permitted by at least one nearby
people. A Hittite law states "If father and son sleep with
(the same) slave girl or harlot, there shall be no punishment."
(Paul 82).

The rest of verse 7 concerns oppression
of the poor by the powerful. Verse 8 continues this theme ("clothing
taken in pledge") whilst moving into the temple. To read
the line in this way thus fits better with the context than merely
a father intruding on the son's love affair (Wolff 167)!

It is clear, in either case, that the phrase "go
with" refers to sexual intercourse (Paul 82; Wolff
167 and n.287) cf. the English expression "go with" (though Alter,
xxx-xxi, suggests the Hebrew is probably cruder).

This page is part of the Hypertext Bible Commentary - Amos , if you have reached it as a standalone
page, to view it in context, go to www.bible.gen.nz&COPY; Tim Bulkeley, 1996-2005, Tim
Bulkeley. All rights reserved.